If you shop at an airport, did it really happen? Part 2

Sponsored by Brisbane Airport Corporation

Since I wrote this post two years ago about shopping at Brisbane Airport, I’ve been inundated with messages from other “like-minded” airport shoppers, kindred spirits, if you like. It seems if you shop at an airport – and lots of us do – it really does feel like it happens in that glorious limbo land between home and your destination.

You know the limbo land I’m talking about, don’t you? It’s the one where your purse and debit card seem to have a loosening of the strings that normally keep us tied to a budget. It’s the limbo land where you have time that you seemingly never have in the usual day-to-day crazy that is life to try on clothes or find a new lippy. Oh, the possibilities.

The airport I spend most of my time in is my home-town airport, Brisbane Airport. So when the good people at Brisbane Airport Corporation asked me to re-visit the Domestic Terminal and spend some time browsing its new or refurbished fashion and beauty retailers at the Qantas end of the terminal, it was indeed a non-hardship situation of my working life overlapping with my real life.

For a red, hot minute, I totally forgot that I wasn’t flying anywhere that day. And my photographer and I may or may not have made some sneaky purchases. I mean, it really is so easy to come up with shopping justifications. Below are 8 more reasons why you might find a quick shop at Brisbane Airport extremely helpful.

Airport shopping can very much help you out of a sticky situation if you find yourself in the departure lounge with a niggling feeling that you’ve forgotten to pack something for your destination. And it won’t cost you more than it would have at your local shopping centre.

1. You’re heading to a party and want to feel fresh. Country Road is now open at Brisbane Airport. Rejoice! How is this for a festive alternative to a frock?

📍Level 2, Qantas Terminal area, near Gate 22

2. You need to update your work look. STAT.  Oxford at Brisbane Airport now includes a womenswear section. There’s always room for another blazer in your collection.

📍Level 2, Qantas Terminal area, near Gate 23 

3. Your beach wardrobe needs a bit of a boost. Catching a flight somewhere warm where the forecast is sunny with a high chance of cocktails? Blue Illusion’s beautiful new store has your resort wardrobe covered, down to the hat!

📍Level 2, Qantas Terminal area, near Gate 23

4. You’re heading straight from the plane to a girls’ lunch. Feel fresh in something new and fabulous from the newly renovated Witchery store. The store’s accessory situation is next level. Panic not, it’s still in its prime position just outside the Qantas lounge.

📍Level 2, Qantas Terminal area, near Gate 22

5. You want a new fragrance to remember your trip. This is something I talked about in this post and I love that so many messaged me to say they now do this too! With Jo Malone London now open at Brisbane Airport’s Domestic Terminal, you can extend your tradition to holidays in Australia.

📍Qantas Terminal area, near gate 22

6. You can’t seem to find the perfect nude lipstick. It’s a very real situation, I tell you. One woman’s nude is definitely not another’s. Let the experts at the new MAC Cosmetics store at Brisbane Airport help you find your signature nude lippy. For the record, mine is Jubilee Lustre Lipstick.

📍Qantas Terminal area, near gate 22

7. You NEED a new pair of sunglasses. Oh my, people talk about having a shoe or a bag problem but I think mine is sunglasses. You can never have too many – particularly when you live in a place where the sun shines all year round. Love the selection at Sunglass Hut. 

📍Qantas Terminal area, near Gate 22

8. Your occasion accessories game could do with a lift. If there’s one thing that can always elevate an outfit, it’s a statement necklace. Or jump on board the headband or hair clip train. Mimco never lets you down in the bling department.

📍Qantas Terminal area, near Gate 22

So, tell me, am I alone with my love of airport shopping? What’s the best thing you’ve ever bought at an airport? I want to hear all your airport shopping stories in the comments below.

Photography: The Photo Pitch; Hair and Makeup: Dale Dorning